Page 44 of Something Tattered
His wife.
My mom.
They never mentionedthatpart. Did they?
But theydidmention all the other stuff – rumors of affairs, fights, and whatever other drama they could dream up.
None of it was true. But that didn't stop anyone from speculating, even now.
I was so tired of it, I wanted to scream. But I didn't. Instead, I leaned into Joel and mumbled something about loving this song way too much to think of anything else.
Happily, Joel didn't push the issue. Instead, he cradled me tighter and moved against me, soothing my unsettled nerves until I almost forgot all of those things that I couldn’t change.
And besides, I had so much to be thankful for. I had amazing friends who'd shown up for my party. I was dancing with an amazing guy. And, I had an aunt who, crazy or not, never, ever forgot my birthday.
When the song ended, I pulled back to tell Joel, "Thanks again. I owe you, okay?"
He smiled. "Why wouldyouoweme?"
"Mostly for being here." I gave a shaky laugh. "I mean, this can't be your idea of fun."
"Yeah? Why not?"
"Well, for one thing, we're all drunk, and you're sober."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"Isn't it?" I asked.
He leaned his head closer and said, "You want the truth?"
I felt myself nod.
"I wasn't gonna drink anyway. So forget that, alright?"
"Oh." I wasn't sure what to make of that. "Why not? Are you a…?"
"Recovering alcoholic?" He laughed. "No."
"Then what?" I asked.
Without answering, he glanced toward the booth. "Looks like the show's over."
I turned, and sure enough, the cowboy, still fully dressed, was hoisting his music player onto his shoulder. He turned and began walking away, leaving April and the others ogling his backside.
I squinted in confusion. Had the guy stripped at all? If so, he had to be the fastest stripper on the planet, or I'd blinked and somehow missed it.
Regardless, it was time to go back. Together, Joel and I waded through the crowd and settled back into the booth.
April was laughing. She looked to me and called out, "You don't know what you missed."
Her laughter was contagious. I called back, "That's whatyouthink."
"No, I’m serious," she said. "The guy was hysterical."
I gave her a confused look. "As in funny?"
"Oh yeah. Totally."
